Just a Crush
by Humanarian
Summary: There was no denying it. Russell Ferguson, the small, neat-freak hedgehog, had a crush on a human. He would have to face facts - it was just a crush, nothing more... (CONTAINS HUMANxANIMAL)


"_Um, Blythe," started the hedgehog nervously, shaking his head slightly, "I'm afraid I couldn't come up with anything to give you..."_

_The guilt was clear in his voice, and he averted her gaze for a moment, so he wouldn't be able to see the look of disappointment upon her face. He had wondered about what kind of gift to give her, to show how much he appreciated her helping out at the pet shop, and how much she would be missed. However, he had gotten too wrapped up in organizing everybody else's gifts to prepare his own! How could Blythe ever forgive him for that?_

_Before she could answer, the pet shop's favorite comedian, Pepper, chirped in._

"_What are you talking about, Russell?"_

"_This whole thing was Russell's idea, Blythe!" stated Zoe, the fashionista of the group, with a smile._

_Blythe returned her gaze to Russell once again, taking a seat in front of him._

"_Thank you, Russell," she said happily, taking him in her arms and startling him slightly. Her embrace was warm and gentle, yet firm at the same time. It felt slightly uncomfortable at first, but he soon relaxed and didn't even try to resist her touch, though he still felt too overwhelmed to move._

"_I think I'll miss you most of all," she whispered into his ear, to prevent the other pets from hearing. He realized that she didn't need any specific gift from him to make her happy; she was grateful for having him as a friend, and someone to go to for advice and guidance when her human friends weren't there for her. It had been a while since someone had shown that much gratitude towards him, and he relished in the fact that he could make her happy simply by doing what he did best._

_He didn't want the moment to end, and the fact that he was going to miss her a lot finally hit him. Blythe meant a great deal to him, and the same went for the rest of the pets; all of them would miss her terribly. He was on the verge of tears before she finally pulled away and set him down again. The hug didn't last anywhere near as long as he had wanted it to, but it was still enjoyable while it lasted._

_He took a few steps back, as well as a moment to compose himself from the feelings that welled up inside of him. He was upset to see her go, yet happy to watch her pursue her dreams... though, there was something else; a warmth he had never experienced before. It was foreign to him, unlike any other emotion he knew. He had no idea how to explain it – it reminded him of the sweetness of a flower, or perhaps the delicately flapping wings of a small butterfly... but also of a constant uphill struggle, and a puzzle unable to be completed due to one missing piece..._

* * *

Russell looked through the window of the main area of Littlest Pet Shop and sighed dreamily, thinking back to that moment. It had been a few days since Blythe's return, and all the pets were glad to have her back. She was supposed to be gone the whole summer, but she decided that fashion camp was far too much work, and that she would rather be back at home with her friends and family, designing new outfits at her own pace.

_Ah, sweet Blythe... _the small hedgehog thought longingly, awaiting her return to the pet shop from school. The rest of the pets were up to their usual shenanigans in the day camp, hardly (if even) noticing his absence. He enjoyed seeing her before the other pets discovered her arrival, and he definitely loved spending time with her. There was something about her he found... appealing, and it wasn't just the fact that she could understand each and every animal. No, there was a certain air of charm surrounding her, and she would always find some way to make the pets feel better, no matter the situation. She was a good friend to all of the pets, but there was something else about her that Russell... liked... quite a lot. He simply couldn't put his paw on it. He liked her as a friend, but it just wasn't _satisfying _enough.

_What am I even thinking? Surely I like her as much as the rest of my friends, right?_

Wrong.

His head filled with thoughts of becoming _more _than friends with Blythe. It felt so wrong, so why did it... seem right? He couldn't understand it. Since when had he started thinking about her in that way? He hit his head on the glass window in frustration, silently cursing himself for having such thoughts. She was just a friend, and that was all she would ever be to him.

_It's genuine affection, I like her in the same way as I like my owner, _he tried to convince himself, only to have a voice in his head reply with,

_You have a crush on Blythe Baxter!_

"No, I do not!" he cried, hitting his head against the window again with each syllable.

It was no use. There was no denying it. He _liked _the human girl... he was practically in_ love _with her.

Russell Ferguson, the small, neat-freak hedgehog, had a crush on a human.

It was so unfair! Why did it have to be her, and not one of the pets? At least they could have worked something out; being in love with an entirely different species wasn't unheard of. But a human? Absolutely ridiculous! What would happen if she found out somehow? Would she ever speak to him again? Would their friendship be ruined beyond repair? Perhaps, if she did feel the same way, it would ruin her social life?

He had to face facts – it was just a crush, nothing more.

* * *

Russell waited hours for Blythe, but she hadn't set foot in the pet shop since that morning. He had no idea why; she always went to see her favorite furry (or, in Vinnie's case, scaly) friends after school. Today was different, though. He wondered if she got caught up in some overdue homework task, or if she had not escaped the, like, totally gross clutches of the Biskit twins. Each moment became more painful for him. He looked forward to seeing her sweet smile once again, but he felt his quills tremor with anticipation; how would he tell her about his feelings?

He couldn't do anything but stare at the desolate streets through the window, sick to the stomach with worry and doubt. Even after thinking about every possible outcome, he still couldn't come up with a rational decision. However, he eventually promised himself that he would not tell Blythe until he was ready to do so, and that nobody else would be around to hear it.

The lonesome hedgehog soon gave up on waiting for Blythe, and planned to use the dumbwaiter to check her room instead. Knowing how much she preferred to push her homework aside and use her free time to design outfits instead, this was probably the case. He crept through the day camp unnoticed by the others and their everyday antics, climbed into the dumbwaiter, and hauled himself up by tugging the rope.

Soon enough, he had reached his destination – Blythe's room. Thinking that it would be rude to just barge in, he gave the dumbwaiter's door a swift knock, and called her name.

Silence.

Just to make sure she wasn't in, he leapt into the room and looked at his surroundings. He paused and couldn't contain a smile when, sure enough, the object of his affections lay sleeping on top of her bed, half-finished homework clutched to her chest.

He climbed onto the bed to wake her up, but hesitated. She appeared to be in a peaceful sleep, and looked even more _beautiful _up close. He just stood there for a moment, watching her sleep, feeling his face flash crimson-

_Gah, I'm such a creep!_ he thought to himself, cringing.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to wake her up by nudging her arm gently.

"Blythe?" he whispered, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Just five more minutes, dad..." she groaned, coaxing a small chuckle from the hedgehog.

"Blythe, it's me," he persisted.

"Huh?" she muttered, her eyes snapping open. Upon seeing the tiny critter in front of her, she jumped slightly, not expecting to find herself face-to-face with him.

"Oh, Russell... sorry about that," she said before stretching briefly.

"Don't worry about it... although, you should probably worry about _that_," he gestured to the unfinished homework she was still holding.

"Ohmygosh, I'm never gonna finish this in time! Ugh, I can't believe I fell asleep!"

She suddenly jerked upright, but before she could stand up, Russell gently placed a reassuring paw on her arm.

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance?"

* * *

Blythe completed her homework within hours of Russell's arrival, and sat on her bed with an exhausted sigh. The algebra homework had been a lot more troublesome than she had expected, and some of the questions even caught Russell off guard. Luckily for them, the internet was a great place for learning how to complete sums.

She watched him standing on her desk, tapping a few keys of a calculator and muttering unintelligibly. After a few moments of this, he spun around and said with a grin,

"All correct. Well done, Blythe!"

"Whew, I'm x^2! Oops, I mean, exhausted!"

The hedgehog chuckled slightly and carefully climbed down from the desk.

"Well, that's enough algebra for one day," he said, sitting next to Blythe on the bed.

"Yeah... by the way, what did you wanna talk to me about?"

"Hm? Oh, n-nevermind that..." he looked away, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing as best as possible, though it didn't seem to make a difference.

"Are you sure, Russell? You can tell me anything at all," she reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I...I'm afraid that... you may not like what you're about to hear," he replied hesitantly.

"I promise I won't judge you for it."

Russell gazed at the floor, deep in thought. This could be the moment he had been waiting for, and it would be the perfect time to remove the burden of anxiety and self-doubt from his chest. Blythe would understand how he felt, and could possibly even feel the same way towards him. However, it could also go terribly wrong, and have him shunned and ridiculed by all of his friends, just because of one _stupid _crush! It would be the embarrassment of a lifetime! Was it really worth it?

He let out a defeated sigh, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do.

"Alright..."

After standing up again, he took another step towards her. There was a tense silence between them for a moment as they both tried to analyze the look in each other's eyes. Blythe couldn't tell what the hedgehog was feeling, but she knew one thing for sure – he was nervous about it, so it was most likely a very sensitive topic. Likewise, Russell couldn't quite tell what she was thinking either, which made him feel even worse about the whole situation.

It wasn't until she gave him a genuinely caring smile that he snapped out of his trance.

"Go on," she persisted, raising an eyebrow.

He inhaled, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Blythe, I..."

He fidgeted with his paws and felt his face heat up. His eyes darted around the room as he tried to clear his head of negative thoughts even though it didn't seem to help, and the fact that he could feel her eyes on him made the whole situation even worse.

_Come on, Russell, pull yourself together!_

He looked into her eyes with the most sincere look he could manage, hoping that she would take him seriously.

"I..."

He gulped, not daring to go any further. He felt his voice growing weaker with each syllable, as opposed to his fear, which seemed to thrive with each passing moment. The words he wanted to say were on the tip of his tongue, yet they were too stubborn to be said.

"I-I..."

_It's now or never! I can do this!_

"I... l-like you... a lot," he squeaked before swiftly curling into a ball.

It took a quiet moment for both of them to process what had been said, and the words spoken still lingered in the air. The silence was tense. Neither the human nor the hedgehog knew what to do next.

_...nonononononononono-_

Blythe couldn't stop her cheeks turning a vibrant shade of red, or the sudden upwards tug on her lips.

"Aw, Russell..." she whispered softly, "I... I feel the same way about you."

Nervously, he stood up again.

"R-really?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Blythe."

She kissed his cheek lightly, almost causing him to faint; if his heart pounded any faster, he was sure he would've had a heart attack! He had no idea how his confession had gone so well, but he was thankful for it.

"I'm not sure how, but we can make this work." she said with a smile.

He had to face facts – this was not just a crush, but the start of something entirely new...

* * *

**Well, hope you all enjoyed my first ever fic! I absolutely adore this pairing, and the idea of Russell having a crush on Blythe is just too cute for words! I hope to write something a lot more dramatic about these two sometime in future. Until then, a review would be much appreciated!**

**-Humanarian**


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